Method and apparatus for feeding blanks



NOV. 6, 1951 ANDERSON 2,573,944

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING BLANKS Filed Jan. 23, 1948 3Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HELMER ANDERSON BY M6 4 ATTORNEY Nov. 6, 1951 H.ANDERSON 2,573,944

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING BLANKS Filed Jan. 25, 1948 5Sheets-Sheet 2 my 5 E N J W 3 9; R O m 5. Na mm mm o o o .m MN m vfi E Ev mm. v! 1 o o D V 0 o O o N N my mm A m: 5 n! Nb R N! a Q 5. E mg mm\w\m0 N N0 7 1/92 W 11E m: P m2 Y M 0 a o 0 ll m g lu w o Nov. 6, 1951 IH. ANDERSON 2,573,944

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING BLANKS Filed Jan; 23, 1948 3Sheets-Sheet I5 FIG. 7

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36 GI 66 Hal} 59 us A O /NVEN70R A O HELMER ANDERSON ATTORNEY PatentedNov. 6 1 951 PATENT oFFIcE Helm er Anderspn; Minneapolis, "Minn,assignor to General Mills, .I nc., a corporation of Dela 1 'ApplicationJanuary 1948,.Serial No. 4,013 A .il fi Glaimsl (01.: 271-) v 1' Thisinvention relates ratus' for feedin blanks-and is more particularlyconcerned with the feeding of blanks which are slotted in such a'ma'nneras to provide flaps when the blank has been folded into'theshape of acarton.

Many devices have been employed in the past to feed such blanks. oneat'atime from one side of a stack, i. e.,"from the' topor from the bot-' tomof saidvstack." most'cases' such feeding is a simple matter because ittakes place in a direction parallel toth e'slots; However, in certaincases it may be' des irable to 'feed' the blanks from the stack inga'direction at a substantial angle to the slots andili such a case thereisa definite probability that the flap portions of the blank being [fedwill become interlocked with flap portions of anadjac'ent blank'so thateither a plurality'of blanks will be 'fed instead" of the desired singleblank or the flaps will bebent or tornf feeding such blanks.

oa method and appa- 8-8 of Fig. 1', and

With these disadvantages of the prior art in .It is a furtherobject toprovide a method in 1 which blanks'may be fed one at a time from oneside of a stack in a directiorr-substantially per} pendicularto'the'li'ne' of the slots in such a blank It is another object toprovide a method of feeding slotted blanks in which interlockingengagement of the flaps-of the blank being fed with flaps of theadjacent blank is'positively prevented. v

Still another'object of the inventio'n is the pro- 1, withcertainwportions broken away to showde1 tails of the operatingmechanism. Y r

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. 3of one of .the devices forachieving relative dis-v placement of the carton flaps.

Fig. 5 is an end view. of the device ,of Fig.=..1, certain portions.being broken away and other portions being omitted for clearness.

Fig. 6 is an'enlarged view showin details .of a flap-deforming .member,said member being shown in its inoperative position. e V Fig. '7 isaview similar to Fig. 6 taken onflthe line 1-1 -.of.-.Fig.' 4, with the,blank deforming member in its. operative position. 1 1;:

Fig. 8 is a partial sectional View on the line Fig. 9 is a partialperspective viewwof onelof the positioning, supporting; and guidemembers for the stack of carton-blanks, 1 .1;

I I General descriptionoj the method a ,:In .order to facilitate theunderstanding of the detailed description, of the apparatus, refererenceismade, to .Fig. 2 inv which a schematic showing is given of one mannerin which the in vention maybe carried out. As shown in this figure.theinventionrrelates to the feeding of a slotted blank, 15.. Forconvenience a blanksuit: ablefor use as, a box .or carton has beenshown.Sucha blank includes cut or score lines lfi which effectively dividethe; blank into four body portions each with a. corresp i pv o b ttomvision of apparatus 'to- "perform" this improved in process. V I

A further object is to provide a device which will feed blanks-one ata'time from'the-bottom of a stack in a; directionperpendicular 'to theslots in the blank and which shall include means forproducingrelative'displacement between the portions of the blank beingfed at the rear edge of eachslot of the blank and thecorrespondingportions of the adjacent blank at the forward-edge of eachsuch slot. I jOther objects and advantages will be appar-' ent from the followingspecification in which a preferred embodiment of the invention has beendescribed with particular reference to the attached drawings forming "apart of this application. In the drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like parts,

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a feeding apparatus embodying thepresent invention; cer-' tain of the parts being omitted forclearness. IFig. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing how the apparatusperforms the process of this invention.

j ss a s e ee -aw flap jateach end. Twoofthe alternate body portions llmay have a smaller cross sectional area than the other two alternatebody sections .8 inord r hatp r iq sllm y serve as e ends and portions18 as the sides of a rectangularcarton, when properly folded. Slots 1 9serve to divide the edges of theblank into suitable top and bottom fiapsBfl, ll I, 82, and 83 as shown in the drawing. -y 7 p It will beapparentthat if aplurality ofsuch. blanks be arranged inra stack and if anattempt isrinade to feed the bottom-,most, blank'from the stack in 7 1.6 direction of ,the arrow A in Fig. ,2, there will be a StIOllgprobability that some of; the rearward flaps such as 8],,32, or 83 0fthe bottom blank might become interlocked with the adjacent forwardflaps of the next blank in the stack. As a.. result of such engagementboth blafiks. m ht re f m-th t qm f th p e blank. Supports 43 haveupwardly eurvedgmde;

portions 44? which project into the slotsbetweenl the flaps and servetoprevent inter-engagement offth flaps d ringthej feeding movement...j;In; otherwords, thefor'wa'rd edge of each flap 8 l ,'2',i

To assist the action of guides 44, suitablehap deforming members orfingers 85 may be mounted in such a manner as to push the forward pox-"-tions of flaps BI, 82, and 83 downwardly or'in a direction on theopposite side of supports43 from the remaining blanks in the stack. Thusthese forward portions-or flaps 81, 82, and 83' willbe so positionedthat they will readily slide beneath guides 44 and supports 43 toprevent interlocking of'the fiapsas. desired. Thus the process of thepresent invention embodies broadly the idea of feeding the endblank of astack in a direction substantially "perpendicular to the slots in theblank, whilesiinultaneously the fiap portions of the end-blank areguided along a'path which is laterally separated' fr'om the fiappor'tionsof the adjacent blank in the stack.

The details of one apparatus by which the methodof this invention maybeperformed will now be described.

The supporting frame of the apparatus With particular reference toFigs.,l and 3, the apparatus of. -theinventi'on involves suitable sideframe members llgand'l2. These side frame members, are joined at'the topby cross bars I4, l5, l6, and ll','which cross bars also support certainother portions'of the device. For example, at the central portion of themachine on cross bars 14 and I-are mounted two longitudinal supports 18and 19 which serve to carry the weight of the central portion of thestack of blanks to be fed. ll hese members are spaced apart as indicatedat 2| fora purpose to bedescribed. At the forward end of the machine oncross 'b'arsf'lfi and H a further supporting plate 22'is provided. Therear end ofsupport' 22- is beveled as shown at 23. The forward portionof plate 22 slopes upwardly, as at 24, to a horizontal feeding platformor support 25. Above portio'n is a verticalend plate which serves as apositioning means fol one end of the-stack of blanks to be fed. I

The lower edgeofplate 25 is somewhat convex as shown-with thecentral-portion 21 of the-lower edge extending downwardly farther thanthe adjacent lateral portions 28. The spacing between edge 21 and plate25 is just sufiicie'nt to permit the passage of a single blank when saidblank is fe'd from the stack. The additional spacing between the lateralportions 28 of end plate 23 and the bed plate 25 is desirable'in' orderto permit ready passage of the top and'bottom fiaps 'o'f the blank.

'End plate 26 is mounted on vertical supports 29 which in turn arecarried by the inner members of longitudinal auxiliary frame members 3|.

There are two of these longitudinal frame members 3| at each side of themachine and theyare angular incross section (as shown in- Fig. 8) inorder that'theymay-serve as guides and supports for some of themechanismdescribed below. The". ends of frame members 3| are suitablyjoinedby cross pieces 32 and these name members "are further providedwith horizontal plates'33 "fastened by bolts .34 to crossbars l4 and'lt'respec tively.

As Shown iIiFi. 1, plalii'fl altfi hfifv a rearwardly extending arm 35which servesas a support for a rear cross bar 36 on which certainportions of the operating mechanism are mounted. =5 7 Additionallongitudinal supporting bars 31 are mounted on cross bars 14 and I5 andthese longitudinal bars serve to carry the supporting plates 38 whichc'ooperate with central longitudinal -supports 1'8 and; [9 to carry theweight of the 10 stack of blanks. Plates 38 may be adjusted longi- 1tudinallyofsupports 31 in order that they may be positioned at the rearend of the blanks and may assist'in supporting the rear end of the stacksquarely so that the bottom blank may be fed from-the stack by. asuitable pusher.

Birmic supporting and guidingmeans V In order to hold the sides of the"stack of blanks in place, vertical supporting and-guide membersdesignated generally as 39 have been provided.

Members 39,.as. shown in detail in Fig. 9, include an outwardly taperedupper. portion 4i and a vertical lower portion 42. Said guides 39 areadapted to be. positioned so that the horizontal distance between thevertical portions 42' Will just accommodate the width of the blanksbeing fed. "The, outwardly tapered u per portions 41 will thus act asguides .t'o facilitate the positioning of additional blanks onthe top ofthe stack.

At the bottom "of .guide's '39f there are horizontal supporting portions43 .which are. adapted to be positioned beneaththe naps of the bottomblank, with one of sai suppormng. portions at the rear edge-bf each flapof 'said fblank. Supportingportiohs 4'3"are provided with the curvedguides 44- which extend vertically upWardinto the slots. of the bottomblanks. in the "stack between adjacent flaps. of 's'aidblanks, aspreviously described in connection with Fig; 2;

b :In order that the vertical'position of'supports 43 may be adjusted'guidesI'39 are provided; with bolts 45-.which engage. in slots 45 inthe vertical supporting arms? 41. of suitable'braicket'members 4'8.

"B proper adjustment of. the height 5 of these supports 43=it ispossible Ito have them carry a suitable'proportionof'the weight of theentire stack of blanks, so thatt'he stack will not rest too heavilyoncentral-supports l8 and I9: and willf lie -ilatsacross. said. centralsupports without sagging or arching. V f

The lower horizontal portions-bf supporting brackets 48I areadjustablymounted on't he longitudinal auxiliary framemembers 4! .asshownin Fig. With'reference-to thisfigure, horizontal portions 48 of-thesupportsare tightly engaged between lower and. upper clampmembers and 52res pec tiyely;which are connected together by bolts- 53. Thebottomclamp member 45 may have a portion of reduced cross-section asat-5'ladapted to fit the space between auxiliary framemembers 34 inorder to-maintain the plate 49in proper alignment and guide- *it forrnovement longitudinally of -the machine. lt'willrbe apparent :fromFigs: l, 3, and Q that-the support and guide members 4'3 and 44 may beadjusted vertically, laterally and longitudinally .of the rnachi-ne inorder to accommodate themselves to'di-fferentsizes of the carton blanksand :to different spacings: of the slots in-such-bl-anks.-Thisreadyadjustability of the apparatus forms an important-part. of thepresent-invention.

In order. to. feed the bottomblanks successively from the sta ckthefollowingmechanism'has been thickness of which corresponds to thethickness of the particular blank being fed. Thus, as the bar is pushedforwardly, its edge will engage the rear edge of the bottomblank of thestack and will push said blank forward-between the vend plate 26 andsupporting platform 25 without movement of the next or adjacent blank inthe stack.

The pusher 55 is carried by parallel chains 56 and is fastened to saidchains by suitable brackets 51 (Fig. which may be interlockingly engagedwith links of the respective chains. In order to hold the pusher 55close to the supports I 8 and I9 and thus make sure that the pusherengages only the bottom blank, said pusher is provided with a downwardlyextending projection of inverted T-shaped crosssection, the narrowportion of which is adapted to fit the space 21 between supports I8 andIS. The two lateral arms of extensions of the portion of T-shaped crosssection engage beneath supports l8 and I5 and thus the pusher ismaintained in proper aligmnent crosswise of the guides I8 and I9 and isalso held downwardly against the top of said guides as desired, duringthe feeding movement.

It will also be apparent that the arrangement of pusher 55 and guides I8and I9 is such that the pusher will move in a straight horizontal linealong the top of the supports and will not be permitted to sag with thechains as would normally be the case if supports l8 and I9 were omitted.

Chains 56 are carried at their rear ends on idler sprockets 55 which inturn are mounted on a shaft 6|. Shaft 6! extends crosswise of the mainframe of the machine and is journalled in bearings 52 which may beadjusted longitudinally of the machine by suitable adjustingscrews asshown at 63 (Figs. 1 and 3). This adjustment is desirable in order toavoid unnecessary slack in the chains.

The forward ends of chains 56 are carried on driving sprockets 64 whichare suitably keyed to a drive shaft 65. Another driving sprocket 66iskeyed to said shaft and is driven in turn by chain 6? from a suitablesprocket (not shown) on main shaft 68. This main shaft 68 is rotated tothe left in Fig. 3) between the bottom edge- 21 of plate 28 andhorizontal guiding and supporting surface 25. After the front edge ofthe blank passes a suitable distance beyond the'P end plate 26, it maybe engaged by suitable feed rollers 13 and 14 of any desired typewhich-will pull the rest of the blank away from the stack and thus makeit unnecessary for chains 56 to extend throughout the entire length ofsaid stack. In other words, pusher 55 starts the blank from the stackand feed rollers 13 and M, which may be driven in any desired manner,completethe removal of said blank.

This

While 'I have shown a continuously operating driving mechanism with onlyone pusher 55 on chains 56, it will be obvious that this constructioncould be varied in a number of ways. For example, an intermittent drivewhich utilizes a standard one-revolution clutch might be employed ifdesired. Similarly, additional pushers 55 might be positioned on chain56 so that more than one blank could be fed successively from the bottomof the stack with each complete revolution of the chain whether suchmotion of the chain be continuous or intermittent. Since such variationsof the driving and feeding mechanism arewell understood in the art, nodetailed description of each such modification need vbe given.

Flap deforming mechanism With the blank feeder as described up to thispoint, it will be apparent that sheets are fed successively from thebottom of the stack, as shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 3 and asdescribed in the earlier portion of this specification. The rear portionof each flap of the bottom blank is carried on asuitable support 43which is provided with the upwardly curved guide portion 44. These guideportions maintain the forward edge of each of the rear flaps of thebottom blank downwardly displaced with respect to the rear edge of eachadjacent forward flap as the bottom blank is fed from the stack. Thisrelative displacement is maintained during the feeding movement and thusthe danger of interlocking engagement between the flaps of the bottomblank and the flaps of the adjacent blanks in the stack is avoided.

With certain types of material and suitable vertical adjustment ofsupports 43, the blanks may be held with the portions ahead of the slotsraised in such a manner that the unsupported flap portions'at the rearof each slot will sag below the plane of the supports and can thus befed forwardly without interlocking against the adjacent blank. It isalso possible to feed certain blanks according to the invention eventhough the material does not sag as above described. In this case theguide portion 44 which extends into the slot will serve as a deflectorto bend or cam the flap portion in rear of the slot to a downwardlydisplaced position which will avoid interlock. The guide portion 44merges smoothly with the horizontal supporting surface 43 and thus thismember acts as a deflector and separator, one face of which (e. g. theupper face) engages the stack ahead of the slot, and another face ofwhich (e. g. the opposite face) engages the flap of the bottom blankbehind the slot to guide said flap along a path relatively displacedwith respect to the bottom or end of the stack. The guides couldfunction in this manner in any stack, whether the blanks are horizontalor vertical.

In a preferred form of the invention, additional means are provided toinsure the relative displacement of these bottom flap portions dur' ingfeeding. Such means may take various forms, and by way of illustration Ihave shown one such flap deforming mechanism which will now bedescribed.

To assist the relative displacement of the forward edges of flaps 8|,82, and 83 flap deforming members or fingers 85 (shown schematically inFig. 2) have been provided. The action of these flap deforming members85 and the details of theirconstruction and mounting are best shown thembelow the level of guide .44 .and support43. Thus, it will be a simplematter for the bottom blank to be fed forward (1. e., to the .left inFig. 4) with absolutely no possibility of inter-engagement of'its flaps83 with the adjacent flaps182 of the other blanks in the stack.

. While it would be theoretically possible to mount the fingers 85 sothat they would deflect only the bottom blank; I have found in practicethat such an adjustment might result in failure to deflect the flaps incase the thicknessof a given blank varied from the thickness for whichthe machine was set. Therefore I prefer to adjust the fingers 85 so thatthey engage and bend a number of the bottom blanks as shown. Thus eventhough specific blanks vary in thickness, the bottom blank will alwaysbe deflected.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, each member 85 is pivoted at 86 to abifurcated crank arm 81. Members 85 are similarly pivoted at 88 toanother forked crank or lever 89. Pivot 86 is at the upper end of amember 85 as shown,whi1e pivot 88 is spaced at anintermediat e-- pointon said member.

Crankarm 81 is integrallyconnected to a hub or bearing portion 9| whichis pivotally supported by shaft 92 which extends lengthwise of themachine. Bearing portion 9| is freely rotatable on shaft 92 so thatcrank arm 81 may move through the desired are without movement of shaft92,

The forked crank arm 89 is likewise integrally connected to a bearing orhub portion 93 which is mounted on another longitudinal shaft 94. Inorder that lever 89 may be firmly connected to shaft 94 and may bedriven thereby the bearing portion 93 is of split construction as shownat 95, the two portions of the bearing being clamped together by a bolt96 so that the bearing portion is firmly connected to shafted. Thus whenshaft 94 is rotated back and forth or oscillated by mechanism describedbelow, lever arm 89 will be similarly moved and will cause up and downmovement of .deforming'finger 85. By loosening bolts 95 the position offingers 85 may be adjusted longitudinally and vertically, inorder tocorrespond to the various adjusted positions of supports 39.

It should be notedthat the lever 89 is longer than lever arm 87. Becauseof this difference in length, there will be a tendency for the lower endof member 85 to be pushed inwardly against the stack of carton blanks assaid member is moved downwardly from the position of Fig. 6 to theposition of Fig. '7. Thus a compound movement of flap deforming members,85 is obtained which is particularly advantageous for the purpose athand. 7

Longitudinal shafts 92 and 94 are supported by suitable bearing portions91 and 99 on supporting brackets 29. These brackets 99 have horizontalbase portions Hll which are adjustably mounted on the top of the machineas clamped on the longitudinal auxiliary framemembers 3! by means ofclamping plates I94 and clampingbolts I93 which pass through slots-i|l2in brackets ill! and engagext'he "platesiililfi; Plates I94 aresubstantially similar in cross sec-' tion to plates .49 shown'in Fig. 8and are further provided withupwardly extending flanges which form achannel to maintain the bracket portions lDl' in alignment crosswise ofthe frame members 3|. By loosening bolts I93, it will be clear that thesupporting brackets may be adjusted both laterally and longitudinally ofthe machine. These adjustments correspond to the similar adjustments ofmembers 39 and in combination with the adjustments of fingers $5 andbearings 93, this makes it possible for the mechanism to be adapted toblanks of various width and blanks in which the slots are positioned atdifferent longitudinal points.

The third bearing portion It]! for the Trear en of driving shaft 94 isidentical with the otherv similarly numbered brackets but i positionedin archannel I95 of rear cross piece 36. A bolt I96 and clamping washerl9! are utilized to clamp this end bearing in the desired position. Thisbearing is adjustable laterally in the same manner as the others but itis unnecessaryto provide .for longitudinal adjustment of this particularmember.

Since shaft 92 serves merely as a bearing for the upper crank arms 87,it need not be free to rotate and is preferably clamped in the bearingbracket 99. Shafts 94, on the other hand, serve as the driving means tooscillate the links 89 and members and therefore shafts 94 are mountedfor free rotation in supporting brackets 99.

With reference again toFigs. 6 and 7, the lower end of flap deformingmembers 35 are notched as shown. These notches are'formed by a cutbackportion me which extends in a substantially vertical direction and anadjacent cut back portion I99 which is sloped as shown. Thus .a hook isprovided at the lower end of the member .85, the tip III of said hookbeing substantially parallel to the'direction of movement of member 85.The lower portion N2 of the member is slightly convex for engagementwith the flaps 83. Intheupper or retracted position of the deformingmembers 85, as shown in Fig. 6, the lower ends of the members are clearof the stack of carton blanks. As the shaft 94 is rotated in a clockwisedirection, these fingers 35 will be forced downwardly and inwardlyagainst the stack and will engage the flaps of the lower blanks in thestack at a point justbehind the slots in the blank, i. e., at theforward edge of the flaps, with reference to thedirection of feed of theblank. The notched portion of fingers .85 will accommodate those flapsof the upper blanks which are not depressed by the end H2 of the finger.

It will be remembered that the flaps 82 just ahead of the slot inquestion are supported on member 43 and are thus incapable of down wardmovementwith flaps 83. Thus a-relative displacement is obtained betweenthe forward edges of flaps 83 and the rearward edges of flaps 82 whichpermits the bottom carton of the stack to be fed forwardly with nopossibility of interlocking engagement between flaps 83 of the bottomblank and flaps 82 of the next to the bottom blank.

Driving mechanism for flap-deforming members In order to drive theshafts 94 I have provided crank-arm H3 at the rear end of each shaft asshown in Figs. 1, 3, and 5. These crank arms 3 are pivoted at I I4 toconnecting links II5. Each connecting link II5 has an adjustable nut orturnbuckle portion II6 adapted to engage the upper threaded end II1 of asuitable connectingrod II8. g

The lower ends of connecting rods I I8 are connected by pivot pins I I 9to universal links I2I (Fig. 3) which are further connected by pivot insI22 to crank arms I23. Since the axes of pins H9 and I22 are at rightangle to each other, it will be apparent that the linkage will adaptitself readily to the various lateral positions in which'shaft 94 may beadjusted.

Crank arms I23 each have split hub or bearing portions I24 which may beclamped together by bolts I25 so that crank arms I23 are firmlyconnected to a shaft I26 suitably supported crosswise of the machineframe. Shaft I26 has afurtlier lever or crank arm I21 extending in adirection substantially opposite to that of cranks I23. Said lever arm I21 is connected to one end of a suitable return spring I28, the otherend of which is fastened to a portion I29 of the main frame. Spring I28tends to urge shaft I26 in a counter clockwise direction in Fig. 3 andthus urges connecting rods II8 upwardly to rotate shafts 94 so that thefiap deforming fingers 85 are urged in turn to their upper or retractedposition as in Fig. 6.

To rotate shaft I26 in the opposite, or clockwise direction, a furthercrank arm I3I is provided, the lower end of said crank arm being pivotedat I32 to the adjustable end I33 of a longitudinal drive rod I34. Theother end I35 of this drive rod is pivoted at I36 to the bottom of asupporting lever I31, the upper end of said lever being pivoted at I38to one of the frame members I39. This supporting lever I31 carries arotatable cam follower I'4I which engages the periphery of a cam I42 onmain drive shaft 68. As shown in Fig. 3 cain I42 is divided into two prtions, one of greater radius as at I43 and the other of smaller radiusas at I44. Cam follower MI is urged constantly against the periphery ofcam I42 by the action of spring I28 on crank I21 and shaft I26. Thus asdrive shaft 68 is rotated, the cam follower I4I will be forced to theleft in Fig. 3 by the larger portion I43 of the cam I 42 and will thusrotate shaft I26 in a direction which will cause fingers 85 to bedepressed to the position of Figs. 3, 4, 5, and '7.

When the portion I44 of shorter radius reaches a point opposite camfollower I4I the various shafts and links will be moved by the action ofspring I28 so that the fingers 85 return to the position of Fig. 6. CamI42 is so oriented with reference to drive shaft 68 and the position ofpusher 55 on chains 56 that the forward portions of the carton flapswill be displaced downwardly just before the pusher 55 engages thelowermost blank, and these flaps will be held in their down wardlydisplaced position until the feeding of the bottommost blank issubstantially complete, so that there is no further possibility ofinterlocking engagement of any of the flaps.

In the particular mechanism shown the gearing is such that main driveshaft 58 will rotate more than once for each complete revolution ofchains 56. It is contemplated that there will be a corresponding numberof pushers 55 equally spaced around the chains. For simplicity, only oneof the pushers 55 has been shown, and it will be clear that theparticular number of pushers and the gear ratio employed will be a merematter f choice for a skilled worker in th field.

In order that the carton blanks in the stack may be held firmly inposition and flattened against the supporting surface so that thepushers 55 will engage the bottom blanksquarely and will not engage anyof the adjacent blanks, a suitable weight member I45 has been provided.This weight is carried at the end of a lever arm I46 which in turn iscarried by a bearing portion I4! pivoted at I48 to vertical supportingbrackets I49 on rear cross piece 36.

From the foregoing description it will be ap parent that a device hasbeen provided by which the method of this invention can be carried outand that this apparatus involves many advantages and improvements whichcombine to achieve the desired result and provide for eflicient feedingof slotted blanks. As explained in the foregoing description the blankfeeding mechanism is fully adjustable so that it may accommodate cartonblanks of various widths and lengths, and blanks which have differentspacings between the slots which separate the top and bottom flaps.Furthermore, the invention is not necessarily limited to the feeding ofblanks from the bottom of a stack, although this form is preferredbecause of the ease of replenishing the stack and because most cartonfolding machines are designed to receive blanks in a horizontal plane.Since many obvious changes may be made in the specific details ofconstruction of the machine by persons skilled in this field, it is myintention that this invention shall include all such modificationsfalling within the scope and spirit of the attached claims.

Now, therefore, I claim:

1. The method of feeding slotted blanks laterally from one end of avertical stack of superimposed horizontally extending blanks in whichthe slots extend transversely of the direction of feed, which comprisescausing relative vertical displacement of the portions at the rear edgeof each slot of a plurality of the end blanks and the correspondingportions at the forward edge of each slot of the adjacent blanks, andmaintaining the relative vertical displacement of said plurality ofblanks while feeding only the end blank from the stack.

2. The method of feeding slotted blanks from one end of a stack in whichthe slots extend transversely of the direction of feed, which comprisessupporting the portions of the end blank at the forward edge of eachslot, separately deforming a portion of the end blank at the rear edgeof each slot in a direction to clear the forward edge portions of slotsof the adjacent blank, and thereafter feeding said blank from the stackwhile maintaining said portions in deformed position until they havecleared the slot edges of adjacent blanks.

3. The method of feeding slotted blanks from one end of a stack in whichthe slots extend transversely of the direction of feed, which comprisesholding a portion of the end blank at the forward edge of each slot toprevent lateral displacement of said forward edge portion, separatelydeforming a portion of said blank at the rear edge of each'slot in adirection to clear the forward edge portions of the adjacent blankswhile the blanks are otherwise stationary, and then feeding said endblank from the stack and maintaining said portions in deformed positionuntil they have cleared the slot edgesofadjacent blanks. Ti" 7 4. Themethod of feeding slotted blanks from one end of a stack in which theslots extend transversely of the direction of feed, which comprisessupporting the portions of the blanksat the forward edge of each slot toprevent lateral displacement of said forward edges, separately deformingthe portions of a plurality of end blanks at the rear edge of each slotin a direction to clear the forward edge portions of adjacent blanks,and thereafter feeding only the end blank from the stack whilemaintaining said portions 'of the remaining blanks in deformed positionand thereby guiding the end blank clear of the slots of adjacent blanks.

5. In an apparatus for feeding slotted blanks from one end of a stack inwhich the slots extend "transversely of the direction 'of feed, theimprovement which comprises a support engaging said end of the stack atthe forward side of a slot, a flap deforming member, means f or movingthe member against a portion of at leastthe end blank at the rear sideof said slot and thereby displacing the portion in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the blank and away from the stack to clear saidsupport, and means for feeding said end blank from the stack while saidportion is displaced.

6. Apparatus as described in claim in which said support and saiddeforming member are adjustably mounted both laterally andlongitudinally for accommodation of different blank and slot dimensions;

'7. In an apparatus for feeding slotted blanks from the bottomof a stackin which the slots extend transversely of the direction of feed,'theimprovement which comprises a support located under said stack at theforward edge of a slot, amovable deflecting finger engaging at least thebottom blank at the rear edge of said slot and bending said rear edgedownwardly below said support prior to feeding movement of the bottomblank, and means for thereafter feeding said bottom blank forwardly frombeneath'said stack while said edge ortion is bent.

8. Apparatus as in claim 7 in which said support and said finger areadjustably mounted both laterally and longitudinally for accommodationof different blank and slot dimensions.

9. In an apparatus for feeding slotted blanks from the bottom of 'astack in which the slots extend transversely of the direction of feed,the improvement which comprises vertical deforming members locatedadjacent said stack at the rear edge of each slot, a pair of shaftsextending longitudinally of the machine and disposed one above the otheradjacent said members, crank arms on said upper shaft pivotallyconnected to an upper portion of each deforming member, crank arms onsaid lower shaft pivoted to a lower portion of each deforming member,means for driving one of said shafts from a first position in which saiddeforming members are raised and retracted, to a second position'inwhich said members engage and depress at least the bottom blank portionsat the rear of each slot, and means forfeeding thebottom blank fromsaid'stack while said one shaft is in said second position.

10. Apparatus as in claim 9, in which said upper crank arms are shorterthan said lower crank arms. 7

11. Apparatus as in claim 9, in which said shafts are mounted: inbearing brackets, said brackets being adjustable transversely of 'themachine for accommodation of blanks of different width.

12. Apparatus as in claim-,9, in which said crank arms are mountedfor'adjustment longitudinally of said shafts for accommodation of blankshaving different slot locations.

13. In an apparatus for feeding slotted blanks from the bottom of .astack 'in'which the slots extend transversely of the direction of feed,the improvement which comprises supports located under said stack aheadof each slot, vertical deforming members located adjacent said stack atthe rear edge of each slot, a pair of shafts extending longitudinally ofthe machine and disposed one above the other adjacent 'saidmembers,crank arms on said upper shaft pivotally connected to an upper portionof each deforming member, crank arms on said lower shaft pivoted to alower portion of each deforming member, means for driving one of saidshafts from'a first position in which said deforming members are raisedand retracted, to a second position in which'said members engage anddepressza't least the bottom blank portions at the rear of each slot toa level below said supports, and'means for feeding the bottomblank fromsaid stack while said one shaftisin said second position.

14'. Apparatus as in claim 13, in which said shafts arermounted. in'bearing'brackets, said brackets being adjustabletransversely of themachine, and in which said crank armsare'mounted for adjustmentlongitudinally of said shafts, and said supports are adjustable:longitudinally, transversely, and vertically, for accommodation ofdifferent blanks. Y

15. In an apparatus for feeding slotted blanks from the bottom of astack in which the slots extend transversely of the direction of feed,the improvement which comprises deforming members mounted adjacent saidstack for movement betweena first position in which the members areretracted out of engagement with the stack and a second position inwhich the members are moved inwardly and'downwardly and thereby engageand depress the portions of at least the bottom blank at the rear ofeach slot, means for moving said members from first to second position,and means for thereafter feeding the bottom blank from the stack.

16. In an apparatus for feeding slotted'blanks from the bottom of a'stack in which the slots extend transversely of the direction of feed,the improvement which comprises deforming members mounted adjacent saidstack for movement between a first position in which themembers areretracted out of engagement with the stack and a second position inwhich the members are moved inwardly and downwardly and thereby engageand depress the portions of a plurality of bottom blanks at the 'rear ofeach slot, means for moving said members from first to secondposition,'and means for thereafter feeding the bottom blank fromthestack.

HELMER ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,449,690: Chapman Sept. 21, 1948

